Tributes have continued to pour in for a heroic Norwich teacher who drowned while trying to save his wife after a storm capsized their boat during their honeymoon in Egypt.

Tributes have continued to pour in for a heroic Norwich teacher who drowned while trying to save his wife after a storm capsized their boat during their honeymoon in Egypt.

As the Evening News reported yesterday, Luke Day, 31, who taught French at Costessey High School, died after his sailing boat was hit by a violent storm on the Nile on Monday.

It was reported Mr Day, who lived in Newmarket Street, near Unthank Road, Norwich, pushed his wife, Sophie Nicholson-Cole and two other passengers to safety when the metre-high waves started swamping their felucca sailing boat.

Today, the tributes to Mr Day continued as more friends and colleagues told of their grief at the death of the keen cyclist who was described as a “brilliant” and “inspirational” teacher.

Hannah Swain, 32, a teacher at the City Academy in Earlham, who went to the University of East Anglia with Sophie and Mr Day, said: “I've known Sophie all my life, have grown up with her and been best friends since we were kids. I met Luke in the third year of university. He was a very lively person who was full of life and full of exuberance and fun - the sort of person you can't imagine not being around anymore.

“He was the life and soul of everything and you can't imagine the world without him. It's a real tragedy.”

Before he taught at Costessey High School, Mr Day was a teacher at Charles Burrell School in Thetford, where he was also held in high regard.

Philip Harris, who taught with Mr Day at the school for two years, described him as an “inspiring individual who lifted others”.

He said: “This is so sad to hear. The man was a beam of life. He inspired me to enjoy teaching. The enthusiasm and vitality with which he approached everything will always remind me to look at life as an opportunity. I can see him now, excited about his trip, learning lines for a play, describing a new teaching game to inspire his students. We've lost a good one, we really have.”

Yesterday, Sophie paid an emotional tribute to Mr Day and family, friends, and staff and pupils at Costessey High School for their sympathy and support at this difficult time.

Hundreds of pupils at Costessey High School have posted messages on a Facebook tribute page set up in memory of Mr Day, and one pupil has made a poignant video of the teacher which has been put on YouTube.

Mr Day, originally from Lymington in Hampshire, taught at Costessey for four years and was head of French, acting head of languages and ran the school's French exchange programme.

A board of condolence has been set up at the school which will be collected in a book of remembrance in tribute to Mr Day, but the school was also looking at other ways of honouring his memory, including getting a memorial tree and naming one of the language blocks after him. Pupils have been asked to come up with ideas for what they would like to see.

To offer your own tribute to Mr Day, email peter.walsh@archant.co.uk or call him on 01603 772436.